componet recomendations - budget, low-end PC

[hallam2003]

I'm *planning* and budget Low-end build PC, for personal use, no heavy gaming(i.e. no more than solitare, and quake in a low vid setting), I don't need the power of the Athlon, but i do need the speed, at least 700 MHZ, i like the underdog, so I'm going with the Duron 700-850, depending on current prises. I have this all pretty much set out. I do however, need you recomendations on: mobo, sound, video, case.
I'm a high school sophomore, and money is pretty tight, need this to be under $600, including monitor(i can find a crappy one for $20-$30) with $ 100 alotted for incedentals. So i basically have TOP price of $700, so that means you need to keep componets in the low-end catagory, but not crappy stuff. that can still make a killer system, if done correctly. Only other things, I play MP3s a lot so a desend sound card is required, but nothing fancy. I'd like a video card that i can push when i need a quick gaming fix, but i can use for months on end in Windows, without my eyes going bad or anything like that. I don't care too much about the case, but I'd like it to meet all the basic requirements set by AMD on their config page. Thanks in advance

Hallam

[RobRich]

This is going to be a rather vague response, but this should give you a few ideas to start with:

CPU: Going with a Duron is an excellent choice for performance. Spend the few extra dollars for a retail CPU for the waranty and included cooling (I assume you are not o/c'ing).

Motherboard: Do you want to o/c? If not, then check out the ECS K7VZA. Here is Sysopt's review of this sub-$100 SocketA board:

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/reviews/k7vza/index.html

-Memory: Start with 128MB, then migrte to 256MB when needed. An excellent source with good prices is Micron's online store.

http://www.crucial.com

-Case: ATX with atleast a 300 watt PS. Here is a $39 special I posted here at SysOpt:

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/Forum10/HTML/001105.html

-Video: The most performnace for the least dollars is ATI's Radeon256 DDR. This card in the OEM version can be found under $100 at PriceWatch. The SDR version is cheaper, but aviod it due to poor performance. Another great choice is the GeForce-2 MX for under $100. Here's a couple of reviews:

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/reviews/siluro/index.html
http://sysopt.earthweb.com/reviews/geforce2-mx/index.html

-Sound: Go for a Sound Blaster Live value or a Phillips Rythmic Edge Audio. Either of these are great cards, and both cost under $40. Here is a Live review:

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/reviews/sblive/

-HDD: Hard drives are continously falling in prices. I recommend checking out an online search engine for an IBM drive in the 20-30 GB range. Prices are very competitive right now.

-CD-ROM: Staples has a 50x for under $30 this week. CD drives are another item dropping in cost as OEM's are migrating to DVD and CD-RW's as primary drives.

-Floppy: Any generic floppy will do. Expect to pay around $10.

-Modem/Network: Assuming you will be using Win9x/ME, then any cheap Winmodem should surfice. Several are offered at Pricewatch for under $20. As for Networking (if needed), then a 10/100 RealTek card shouldn't set you back more than $15.

-Input: A keyboard and mouse can readily be found for $20-30 from most online vendors.

-Shipping: Variable. Assuming you can find everything at one place you'll be much better off.

Online price search engines will definitely help with the costs. I recommend these sites:

http://ibuyer.sysopt.com
http://www.pricewatch.com

And always verify a retailer's ratings here:
http://www.resellerratings.com

Outside of SysOpt's traditional review section, another excellent resource is "user reviews". Check it out:

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/userreviews/index.html

Good Luck,
Robert Richmond

[Keegan]

Add a case fan for $5. Case cooling is super-important, and even more important with a hot-running processor like a Duron or Athlon Thunderbird.

I know several people who tell me that case cooling is highly overrated, but then I show them my Voodoo3 2000 that got burned, and they shut up.

[RayH]

Forget about getting a "crappy monitor" for $20! The visual on the monitor is the whole purpose of the exercise.

If that's all the money you have, I'd recommend getting an e-Machine at Best Buy or Circuit City.

If you have a full copy of Windows, and have some spare drives, maybe take a chance with a Fry's Barebones kit!

[bdunn]

I just built a low end system as you describe for s neighbor, single mom of 5 putting herself thru college, however she opted for more ram and lesser CPU. A super 7 board and a K63+ 450 which runs great at 600.

We found a used hardware modem and a cheap monitor at a computer show. It came with a scratch on the plastic case on one side but the pic looks great.

[hallam2003]

Thanks for the input guys. The reason I'm not going to go out and get and E- machine is because i have a few friends that build systems reguarly. They always have a few spare parts setting around,and i can get them pretty cheap since they are just setting around collecting dust. So I'd say i can manage to get the HD, a floppy, CD-rom, maybe even a stick of RAM from them, fo probably 30%-40% less than the lowest prices on the net, except maybe on the RAM of coarse. And they can always hook me up with the keyboard and mouse, but i'm not really worried that, i even have some spare mice setting around here somewhere. And anyway, $600-$700 can still make a good system, especially when i'm not looking for the best video, and DVD and stuff like that. I would like to say that I'd like the ability to upgrade with no problem. When/if i get a good job, i might throw in a DVD, or get something like that.
I like the loks of that ECS K7VZA, but the one thing i worried about is the fact that it only has a ATA/66 IDE drive controller, I was really looking foward to use ATA100. Is the difference that noticable? or should i even be worriing about this ?

darkmallard - I see your ideas about the e-machines, And I will take it into consideration, but I think i'd like this one to be my own.

[darkmallard]

Regarding the ATA66 vs ATA100, you won't notice a difference at all. You would only notice difference if this was a multimedia workstation where large data was being transfered or served from this machine. Also, you would have to have a hard drive that supported ATA100. Besides, if you REALLY want it, you can get an ATA100 PCI controller for $30 or less retail.

[darkmallard]

Or you could save yourself time and money and just get a Celeron 633MHz eMachine for $399. I have four emachines in a client/server config. They are awesome for the price. I have one with 98/2000 Advanced Server, dual boot, running SMS. Another has 98/NT4 Server dual boot, running IIS. The last 2 are 98 and ME respectively. The ME system is my gaming and Internet machine. It runs 3D games like Half-Life smoothly at higher resolutions, and the onboard Intel audio outputs nicely to my surround sound system. You'd want to add more RAM since it is cheap. Also, if you disable most of the **** in Startup, they are excellent performers. They are upgradable in almost all areas, except that they lack the AGP slots on most of the lower-priced systems. Since you aren't looking for the super-gaming machine, it isn't a loss. Besides, you can always add a much better PCI video card in the future. They also make more powerful PIII/Athlon 700/800MHz systems for a bit more.

$399 - computer
$50/$60 - 128MB DIMM
$120 - good monitor (you can find
them cheaper or with rebates)
--------
$569/$579 - complete system


[This message has been edited by darkmallard (edited 02-05-2001).]

[hallam2003]

Just checking in, so you think the ATA factor isn't enough to worry about huh? ok, thanks good. I like the looks of some of those barebone systems though, Might look into one of those, that would save some time and trouble too. thanks for the input

Hallam

[RayH]

If you want something reliable and easy to build--get an Asus CUSL2-C motherboard and an Intel Celeron. It's a jumperless motherboard. Totally easy and no hassle. Stay away from motherboards that use VIA chipsets. They can drive you nuts. Also, use an ATI video card. Not the most advanced. But also, reliable.

Everytime you see a configuration problem, it seems that VIA chipsets are in the loop!

Asus boards cost you more money, but are really stable and forgiving. You can get away with cheaper RAM and cases!

[doctj]

He can easily get a quality system for $700. Here are the numbers
Duron 700 $49
MSI k7t Pro 2-A $105
micron pc 133 128 ram $41
case $40
lg electronics 40x cd rom $28
maxtor diamondmax plus 15 gb $91
geforce 2 mx card $89
sb live value $42
floppy $10
total=$490+$50(max) shipping.
leaves $160 to buy a quality 17" monitor
all prices from <A HREF="http://www.pricewatch.com." TARGET=_blank>www.pricewatch.com.</A>

[This message has been edited by doctj (edited 02-06-2001).]

[jad1097]

iSystems Basic Barebones (http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=279997) $399.99

The iSystems AMD KIT PC is pre-assembled with case, motherboard, power supply, AMD Duron 700MHz processor, 52X max CD-Rom drive, 56K modem, keyboard, mouse and speakers. All you need to add is a video card, a hard drive, memory and an operating system.


Here (http://www.pricewatch.com/1/43/2482-1.htm) is a list of complete systems from pricewatch.

[This message has been edited by jad1097 (edited 02-06-2001).]

[jad1097]

Heres another (http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/ViewBag.hmx?UID=PW-6687142-8723&CID=&UpDepts=BBONE&DName=%3Cb%3EBarebone+Systems%3C%2Fb%3E&Back=ProdBAREBONE-AMD.hmx?) and a few more. (http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/ProdBAREBONE-AMD.hmx?UID=PW%2D6687142%2D8723&CID=&updepts=BBONE&DNAME=%3Cb%3EBarebone+Systems%3C%2Fb%3E&Back=ProdBAREBONE-AMD.hmx?)

ABIT KT7
CODEGEN 6005 TOWER CASE W/300W
1.44MB FDD
LIFETIME WARRANTY SDRAM (16X64(PC133) 128MB; AMD DURON 700)$290.00

[This message has been edited by jad1097 (edited 02-06-2001).]

[wyvrn]

If your purpose is cheap, try Frys (http://www.frysad.com) . I just picked up a Fic SS7 mobo, K6-III 333, and 250W atx case for $99. I substituted my own k62-450, memory, video and soundcard and have a nice internet, office, occasional gaming machine for my sister.

Plus I get to sell the 333 chip http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[cheapster]

Ray H wrote: "Stay away from motherboards that use VIA chipsets. They can drive you nuts. Also, use an ATI video card."
I have to take exception to your comments, Ray. I have built two systems using the MSI-6309 motherboard and they were extremely easy to assemble and configure. The first one started with a voodoo 3 3000 PCI video card, and have recently upgraded it to a Creative Geforce 2 MX and have had no problems, even running it overclocked. my other newer version of the board uses the A-Open Geforce 2 MX and it also assembled with ease. I have heard of at least as many problems with ATI drivers as I have heard of Nvidia and 3Dfx problems combined! If you have had a bad experience or two with a certain product, please be specific, rather than painting an entire chipset maker with the same negative brush.
Chuck

[Andy_L]

Just an idea, but if you buy, say the MSI motherboard, you can use the onboard sound, and save the $40 a SB Live would cost you.